The Jamaica Regiment Band and the infantry regiment of which it is a part, have a long lineage, being directly descended from the ancient Jamaica Militia of 1662. As defender of Jamaica’s shores, this was the successor to Cromwell’s troops which had taken Jamaica from the Spaniards a mere seven years earlier. In 1660 the Monarchy was restored in England and, two years later when the Jamaica Militia was formed, there commenced an allegiance to the Crown that has continued through more than three centuries to the present day.

There is also a link with the West India Regiment; in 1959, what is now the 1^st Battalion of the Jamaica Regiment became the 1^st Battalion of the briefly resurrected WIR, following the creation of the short-lived (British) West Indies Federation. It became the forerunner of the rest of the Regiment when, following the dissolution of the Federation, it was re-established as the 1^st Battalion the Jamaica Regiment on 31^st July 1962 – six days before Jamaica became an independent Nation.

In 1962 the Band, which had previously been that of the WIR, became the Band of the 1^st Battalion the Jamaica Regiment; following the creation of a 2^nd Battalion in 1979, it was renamed the Jamaica Regiment Band, and serves both regular Battalions.

The Full-dress uniform is a scarlet tunic with dark blue trousers.